Archived News:

Tuesday, Mar 06, 2018

FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION is now available
on Steam, offering PC gamers the latest installment in the RPG series.
This post covers the news, which includes the launch of
Steam Workshop support,
and while the mod tools are not yet available, Square Enix says they are
readying them for a release "as soon as possible." They explain how this sort of
mod support is unfamiliar territory for them. They also remind everyone that buying the game before May 1st will get a free Half-Life Pack that includes an HEV suit, nerd glasses, and, of course, a crowbar. Here's word on the game:

Get
ready to be at the centre of the ultimate fantasy adventure, now for Windows PC.

Joined by your closest friends on the roadtrip of a lifetime through a
breathtaking open world, witness stunning landscapes and encounter
larger-than-life beasts on your journey to reclaim your homeland from an
unimaginable foe.

In an action-packed battle system, channel the power of your ancestors to warp
effortlessly through the air in thrilling combat, and together with your
comrades, master the skills of weaponry, magic and team-based attacks.

Now realised with the power of cutting-edge technology for Windows PCs,
including support for high-resolution displays and HDR10, the beautiful and
carefully-crafted experience of FINAL FANTASY XV can be explored like never
before.

KEY FEATURES:
Includes all of the exciting content released as part of continuous game updates
(Chapter 13 alternate route, off-road Regalia customisation, character swap
feature and more!). And comes with all of content released in the Season Pass -
Episode Gladiolus, Episode Prompto, Multiplayer Expansion: Comrades, and Episode
Ignis

Two new Operators and an entirely new game mode are now
available in Rainbow Six Siege on all platforms. The Operators, Finka and Lion,
bring new gadgets with the power to affect their allies and enemies no matter
where they are on the map. These abilities are set to shake things up in
competitive multiplayer, but they can also be used to great effect in Outbreak.
In this limited-time co-op event, teams of up to three players face off against
hordes of deadly enemies mutated by an alien parasite in order to discover the
truth behind the infestation. Check out the first video to see Finka and Lion's
gadgets in action, and move on to the second for some Outbreak starter tips.

The Operation Chimera Operators are available now for Year 3 Season Pass
holders, and in seven days, they will become available for purchase in-game
using Renown or R6 Credits. Outbreak is available for free to all Siege owners
from March 6 to April 3.

This marks the beginning of Year 3 for Rainbow Six Siege, a year which will
bring more new Operators, maps, and game updates. Going forward, players who own
or purchase the Standard, Advanced, Gold, or Complete editions of the game will
no longer have to pay Renown to unlock attachments or any of the original 20
Operators. Additionally, players who purchase the PC-only Starter Edition will
get more Operators unlocked from the get-go, with a total of six Operators
(randomly unlocked from a selection of 10) instead of four.

A new
post from Ubisoft takes a look at post-release content plans for Far Cry
5 and what will
be included in the season pass for the upcoming first-person shooter sequel. The
season pass will include three DLC packs, and
this trailer takes a
look at what to expect from them. Word is: "Picking up the Far Cry 5 Season Pass
will grant you access to three new adventures: Hours of Darkness, Lost on Mars,
and Dead Living Zombies. In the first, Hours of Darkness, you'll be thrown into
war-ravaged Vietnam and have to fight your way through enemy forces, rescue
POWs, and try to evac amidst the chaos. The second, Lost on Mars, will see you
traveling to the red planet to wield futuristic weaponry in a jetpack-fueled
fight against insidious aliens. Last but not least, Dead Living Zombies places
you and a co-op teammate at the whim of a B-movie director, who cooks up seven
different scenarios that pit you against hordes of undead horrors." They
also offer
this look at Far Cry Arcade, the game's map editor mode, and how closely it
will integrate with the game.
This trailer looks
at that, and here are more details:

Far Cry Arcade is Far Cry 5's map
editor mode, and it's bigger, more versatile, and more packed with content than
it's been at any point in the series' past. The first Far Cry map editor to
enable players to create their own solo, co-op, and PvP levels, Far Cry Arcade
is a chance for players to crack open the game and use its assets to build their
own customized adventures and experiences. Far Cry Arcade's goal is to make
these custom maps as accessible as the campaign, and one way to accomplish that
is to integrate them directly into Hope County – and your character's
progression.

"We've really pushed hard this time to make it a much more integral part of the
Far Cry experience, and to really give it its own identity," says Clark Davies,
lead game designer on Far Cry Arcade. "We're going to make sure it's more
visible than ever. Not just in our menus, but in the campaign itself. We're
going to put arcade booths all around our campaign world in places where it
makes sense. And then on top of that, there will be posters all over the game
world, which will be simple portals to quick-launch you into our best featured
maps."

Walk up to an arcade machine in a bar, for example, and you can jump straight
into Far Cry Arcade, check out the latest user-created levels (which will be
curated by the developers), and start playing. You'll visit these worlds as the
same custom deputy you play in the campaign, and any experience points, perks,
or money you earn while playing will cross over into the campaign when you're
done. (And no, that doesn't mean you can just create a "level" filled with cash
and make yourself rich.)

Ubisoft announces a March 20th release date for From Dusk Till Casa
Bonita, the new DLC for South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Read on
true believers! Excelsior!:

Ubisoft and South Park Digital Studios
announced that South Park: The Fractured But Whole From Dusk Till Casa Bonita
DLC will be available on March 20 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. From South
Park Digital Studios and developed by Ubisoft San Francisco, From Dusk Till Casa
Bonita DLC adds an all-new story campaign and superhero class to South Park: The
Fractured But Whole. From Dusk Till Casa Bonita is available for the suggested
retail price of $11.99

Mysterion's sister is in trouble. She's fallen in with the Vamp Kids of South
Park, who have descended upon Cartman's favorite restaurant, Casa Bonita. Visit
the famous family eatery and explore Black Bart's Cave, watch the cliff divers,
taste the magic of Mexico and defeat the brood of Vampires.

Fight darkness with darkness and embrace the new Netherborn class, which
features four new occult powers. Dress the part in new Goth costumes and gain
some sweet loot. Enter the battle alongside Henrietta, the Goth: a powerful
support Witch, and bring your new powers and buddy to the rest of your superhero
adventure.

GuildWars2.com announces the launch of A Bug in the System, Episode 2 of
Living World Season 4 in Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet's MMORPG sequel (thanks K). This
recent trailer
introduces The Man With the Plan and the rest of the cast, and it is accompanied
by the following details:

Beginning March 6, 2018
Pull off a daring infiltration, befriend unusual allies, and explore the
Sandswept Isles in the second episode of Living World Season 4!

A Bug in the System
Portals are still delivering Palawa Joko’s invasion forces to Tyria at an
alarming rate, and Taimi may have picked up a lead on where they’re coming from.
Check in with her, then meet up with Agent Kito for new intel from the Order of
Shadows.

New Mastery: Bond of Life
Tired of getting knocked off your sweet ride by enthusiastic sandsharks? Use the
new Bond of Life mastery to temporarily share your health pool with your mount,
and tell enemies who favor fast-moving prey to eat your dust.

Legendary Dagger: Claw of the Khan-Ur
Reforged stronger with every great feat its wielder accomplished, this ancient
charr relic is an amalgamation of ambitions. It has served as an apparatus of
revolution, a key to power, and a symbol of stability. Build a piece of history,
and its future will be in your hands.

Fear Effect Sedna is now available for Windows
on GOG.com and
Steam,
offering a Fear Effect sequel a mere 18 years after the release of the original
PlayStation action/adventure. Here's
a recent trailer with
a look, and here are the details from the announcement:

Square Enix
Collective® and Sushee are excited to announce that their Fear Effect sequel -
Fear Effect® Sedna - has today launched on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment
system, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch™ and PC almost twenty years after the original
game first rolled out to much acclaim on PlayStation.

The new chapter, which originally began life thanks to a successful Kickstarter
campaign back in 2016, has been co-written by the series’ original writer and
focuses on Hana, Rain, Glas and Deke’s first steps into the world of Inuit
mythology.

Fear Effect Sedna also introduces a brand new character Axel, as well as an
isometric view point that cements the combination of action, stealth, and puzzle
solving with animated cutscenes into one potent package. On top of these new
additions, fans of the series will also be pleased to hear this new chapter
retains the classic death cutscenes from the original games.

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment announces the chance to get in touch with your inner
Jerry Seinfeld with the release of the Porsche Legends Pack for
Project CARS 2, Slightly Mad's racing game.
The Windows edition of the DLC is now available for download
on Steam. Details can be found on
this page along with a bunch of screenshots and
this trailer showing
the German sports and racing cars burning a little rubber. Here's more on what
this adds:

Experience Porsche’s 70th anniversary with this one
fully-loaded Pack and immerse yourself in a content-rich landscape of thrills,
sounds, technology, and pure racing history.

Strap yourself in for an enduring journey through the decades by racing eight
Porsche cars around Porsche’s very own race- and test-track―the FIA-certified
‘Porsche On-road Circuit Leipzig’―for the very first in any racing simulation
game.

Each of the 10 turns at the Porsche On-road Circuit Leipzig mirrors a
world-famous venue: The Suzuka S bend at the start of the lap that will test
your ability to get on the throttle early, Sebring’s Sunset Bend where, on the
exit, you’ll need a fat dollop of opposite lock, the late-braking test of guts
for the Loews-at-Monaco-inspired hairpin, the bouncing-over-the-kerbs action for
the Mobil 1 S bend (a carbon-copy of the Nürburgring Grand Prix), the
suck-in-your-breath and keep-the-throttle-open challenge through the Curve di
Lesmo, and the triple-turn Spa-Francorchamps Bus Stop chicane―all will provide a
serious test of both car and driver.

The eight Porsche cars represent many of the most famous―and infamous―cars that
have rolled out of Zuffenhausen and Weissachover the last seven
decades.

New Blood Interactive announces AMID EVIL will enter Early Access
on Steam on
March 12th, offering first crack at this Unreal Engine 4 first-person shooter
inspired by Heretic and Hexen. A
new trailer hopes
to get you amped up over this, as does this announcement:

AMID EVIL's fast-paced and over-the-top action is a modern throwback to games
like Heretic and Hexen. Yanking players back to a truly golden PC-age
experience, AMID EVIL hosts savagely violent enemies and insane magical weaponry
like tridents that shoot high voltage mystical electricity and katanas that
expel enough force to mow down several enemies at once.

Brutal new footage released today introduces the endless mode gameplay, Hordes
of Evil, which pits players against insane enemy AI. Hordes of Evil is included
in the Early Access version of the game, which grants players three of the final
seven campaign episodes. Each episode boasts different environments and enemies,
as well as multitudes of in-game options and cheat codes.

Created with Unreal Engine and optimized to run on a toaster (a really nice
toaster), the game sports a dynamic and remarkable soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult
(Rise of the Triad, DUSK). AMID EVIL will unleash its full fury later this
year.

Super Seducer - How to Talk to Girls is now available
on Steam, offering a Windows and macOS FMV game where "world-renowned dating
coach" Richard La Ruina will impart the techniques that helped transform
him from "a self-confessed shy virgin" into "Europe’s top pick up artist in
2009." One might be tempted to say
this is tone deaf in light of the current focus on the #MeToo and #TimesUp
movements, but it seems fair to think this was tone deaf before that, and the
marketing suggests they don't mind if this ruffles a few feathers. A
release trailer from a
few weeks ago introduces La Ruina, who is incredibly handsome and described by
Piers Morgan on TV as a "dick," which probably helps understand his success
and why it can't be taught (our
favorite aspect of the Steam listing is the user-defined tag calling it
"psychological horror"). Here's part of the announcement that talks about this
as a serious learning tool:

Discover what it takes to charm Super
Seducer’s cast of a dozen elegant women, who bring their own personalities and
dating experiences to each of the game’s ten unique settings, for added
authenticity and hilarious improvisational moments that run the gamut from
adorable, laugh-out funny to downright cringe-worthy. Branching dialogue-driven
action options allow players to learn and experience proper seduction tactics
with instant feedback. Players that make the wrong move in their flirtatious
conquests face a variety of awkward and over-the-top negative outcomes inspired
by unsuccessful “strategies” observed in the real world by Richard La Ruina and
his team of female consultants.

“Super Seducer is not only an incredibly amusing game, it’s a fantastic learning
tool based on realistic human sexual psychology and real-world dating rituals
that reward players for making better choices when approaching women and
punishes them for making a mistake or acting inappropriately,” said Richard La
Ruina. “The team of women that consulted on the project, including the game’s
strong female cast, believe that Super Seducer educates men on the do’s and
don’ts of seduction, making men much less likely to offend women after they’ve
played the game. My time-tested, research-backed techniques are sure to help
anyone meet the partner of their dreams!”

The ESA will attend a meeting at the White House on Thursday, so there will be at
least one attendee at the summit the President called for
last week to see how much of the gun
violence in the U.S. can be blamed on video games. There were no invitations
sent out before the meeting was mentioned, but now
Business Insider reports the Entertainment Software Association says they
will meet with Trump administration officials, though no other
attendees have been named. Here's what the ESA says about the meeting: "The upcoming
meeting at the White House, which ESA will attend, will provide the opportunity
to have a fact-based conversation about video game ratings, our industry's
commitment to parents, and the tools we provide to make informed entertainment
choices." On a related note,
Vox
discusses the backlash to efforts to blame violence on video games, noting the
outrage of GamerGate movement, a group that claims some of Trump's earliest
supporters.

Charlie INTEL has screenshots from a "tipster" that are alleged to be from
an internal GameStop database revealing plans for the next installment in the
Call of Duty series (thanks
MP1ST). These show several promotional items that say this will be Call
of Duty: Black Ops 4, a new installment in the covert arm of the shooter
series. This supports another recent
rumor, saying the next CoD will be Black Ops 4 set in the modern era.

Triune Studios announces Raids of the Fallen, a co-op dungeon raid first-person
shooter coming to Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 this year. The
Raids of The Fallen Website is
online with details, screenshots, and an
announcement trailer
which uses in-game footage. Here's word on what to expect:

Raids of the
Fallen is a co-op FPS dungeon raiding survival game. Very similar to a wave
survival game, you and your friends will endure an onslaught of monsters with
different styles and attacking ability. As you survive using clever tactics and
powerful magic, you will progress through a vast dungeon unlocking new
locations, discovering hidden areas, completing quests, finding treasure,
obtaining new gear and killing bosses.

The
Microsoft Store now offers Tile Rider for free, a 100% discount off the
normal $1.99 price for this fast-paced adventure game (thanks Ant). This is for
Windows 10, Xbox One, and mobiles, but word is that it does not support
achievements or online multiplayer, as it is part of the Creators Collection.
Here's more on what to expect:

A high-speed adventure game with puzzle,
racing and battle elements.

Have you ever wondered what life inside your phone is like?
Did you know that it's quite puzzling and requires you to BE SMART?
You also have to BE STRONG there and hold your gun tight!
And finally, you'd better BE FAST

Brain Seal announces the release of Dark Quest 2, modestly calling this "the
greatest turn-based RPG the world has ever seen," though it will be up to
players to decide if this is accurate or some sort of final fantasy. This
includes cooperative multiplayer, a level editor, a campaign, achievements,
trading cards, and a "multitude" of fan-created scenario maps. The Dark Quest 2 Website
has details and this
launch trailer. Here's a description:

Dark Quest 2 is a turn based
RPG inspired by legendary board game Hero Quest. The game features a party based
system where you control a group of heroes, an isometric hand-drawn art style,
dice based mechanics and much more.

Each map is designed to take you through an adventure that will test your
party's strength, courage and sanity as you go deeper and deeper into the castle
in search for the chambers of the evil sorcerer.

Features

Single-Player Campaign: Play a story driven
campaign that takes you through a series of adventure on your epic quest to
defeat the evil sorcerer.

Map Editor: Create new adventures and
distribute them through steamworks

Multiplayer: Play together with your
friends and complete the campaign cooperatively!

Turn Based Mechanics: Every turn each of
your heroes in your party can take one single action. Play wise and
carefully or fall captive in the eternal prison of the sorcerer.

Skull of Fate: In the darkest dungeons of
the castle, when left with no hope your last and only way out will be to
roll the skull of fate and reveal your twisted fate.

Assemble a Party: Control a group of heroes
each with their own personality and strengths. Use the unique strengths of
each character and work together to defeat the minions of the evil sorcerer.

I have to express a little gratitude to the fates for the fact that you are
reading these words right now. While the precipitation from last weekend's bomb
cyclone was not that overwhelming, the insane winds that it brought left
thousands of households in our general area without power, and some outages are
yet to be cleared up. This includes our neighbor across the street whose
electric main was pulled by a falling tree, which could pretty easily have
happened here. Our neighbor remains without power as Consolidated Edison
presumably repairs wires that will restore multiple homes at once. The weird
thing is that the wire that broke is still attached to the pole, and is still
live. This has been coiled neatly, but besides a couple of reflectors on the
ground, Con Ed's way of keeping this safe is to have an employee sit nearby in a
car to warn people not to go near it. There has been someone sitting out there
24/7 like this for the past few days, which seems more than a little odd.